<p>My parents are both in technology based jobs. I will be a freshman this coming fall. My stepmom refuses to buy a new laptop for me ( the one I have is 7 years old, went to college with my sister, and is incompatible with many things and only has 10 minutes of battery life) because she believes that I will need an iPad instead. Which one is more useful</p>
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<p>Definitely get a laptop. Ipads are nice for reading websites, watching youtube videos, etc…but isn’t very useful for typing long papers, running required college programs, or doing lengthy college assignments. Screen size is a bit on the small side and the add-on keyboard isn’t very ergonomic IME and those of most folks I knew who tried using it for those purposes. </p>
<p>If I was in your shoes and wasn’t taking classes/doing anything computer intensive, I’d opt for continuing to use the 7 year old notebook as that’s still more than plenty to run Office applications and basic internet apps. </p>
<p>The only overriding concern against this that I can think of is that unless you’re someone who’s comfortable being your own tech support…there’s a greater chance of hardware failure from worn components…especially hard drives during the semester/year which can really be aggravating in terms of lost time and stress.</p>
<p>The question between iPad and laptop is easy to answer: how will you type an essay?</p>
<p>Touch typing definitely doesn’t work on the iPad!</p>
<p>iPads are compatible with bluetooth keyboards. So if you really need to get things done, its notgoing to be That much of a issue.</p>
<p>iPads are next to useless in college. You need a laptop to type up essays, notes, and other things. In addition, laptops are simply more powerful and offer much more applications than an iPad.</p>
<p>The cover topic in this month’s Macworld magazine is titled, “iPad vs. Mac”, and there are a series of articles comparing each when doing different specific tasks. I haven’t finished reading it, but it seems pretty thorough.</p>
<p>Although I love using my iPad, and my iBook is gathering dust, it seems clear that a MacBook laptop is going to be more capable for students. It ought to be at 2x the price!</p>
<p>I’ve read that iPad vs. Mac article and it was very thorough indeed.</p>
<p>To be honest, I use both my Macbook Pro and iPad for school work BUT the iPad I use mostly for note taking and only a small fraction of paper writing when I have writers block at my computer.</p>
<p>My Macbook makes it so much easier to do all my schoolwork. PowerPoints, spreadsheets, word processing documents it is much MUCH easier to do so. Even with the bluetooth keyboard, I couldn’t imagine doing all my work on just an iPad. I’ve seen more laptops on campuses than iPads. And frankly, the ones that did have a iPad out weren’t doing schoolwork most of the time.</p>
<p>And with a laptop 7 years+, that could lead to your worst college nightmares down the road… :(</p>
<p>laptop. hands down. [Gaming</a> Laptops - XOTIC PC - Gaming Notebooks - Custom Laptops - Custom Notebooks](<a href=“http://www.xoticpc.com%5DGaming”>http://www.xoticpc.com). these will last you long enough</p>
<p>I love the iPad my High School gave me, and do use it for most of my school work, but if I had a laptop, it’d be much easier.</p>
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<p>There is some school work that a tablet like the iPad can’t do (PSPICE , MULTISIM , Autocad , etc).</p>
<p>yeah like everyone said get a laptop.</p>
<p>if its weight and battery life your concerned about, think about getting a ultrabook. basically a thin and lightweight laptop but still powerful unlike netbooks.</p>
<p>if you dont have a problem with lugging a heavy laptop around all day then get a good 17" laptop that would basically serve as a desktop replacement</p>
<p>I have actually been looking into the positive and negative aspects of both the past month or so, trying to decide between bringing a laptop, iPad, or both.</p>
<p>For some background information, I have both a laptop and the New iPad.</p>
<p>==============================</p>
<p>Positives of a Laptop:</p>
<p>[ul]
[<em>] Somewhat portable
[</em>] Write papers, make PowerPoints, use Excel, etc.
[<em>] Real keyboard
[</em>] Easy to take notes
[li] Internet Connectivity[/li][/ul]</p>
<p>Negatives of a Laptop:</p>
<p>[ul]
[<em>] Relatively large (if planning to carry with you, probably need a handbag to protect it while traveling)
[</em>] Wi-Fi connection ONLY
[li] Older computers, such as yours (and mine), need to be constantly plugged in or else they die (can be a problem for the long-term)[/li][/ul]</p>
<p>Positives of an iPad:</p>
<p>[ul]
[<em>] Very small/portable
[</em>] Battery life and battery itself can last a while
[<em>] Connects to internet through Wi-Fi AND 3G (which I’d highly recommend the 3G if you plan on only getting the iPad)
[</em>] Note-taking apps
[/ul]</p>
<p>Negatives of an iPad:</p>
<p>[ul]
[<em>] Touch-screen keyboard (some people hate this, such as myself)
[</em>] Hard to transfer notes or edit them the way a real computer can
[li] Not really as flexible as some would like it to be compared to a computer[/li][/ul]</p>
<p>So as you can see, the laptop is probably more appealing already HOWEVER what I’m about to tell you may or may not change your mind.</p>
<p>I know of quite a few apps which have really made having an iPad amazing, as I can bring it to my dad’s house when I go over instead of bringing my gigantic computer. I’ll list them below and quickly describe them, what they do, and how they work. Assuming you won’t bring a laptop with you (I’ve found laptop+iPad will make for an awesome combination. Laptop stays in dorm, bring iPad with you. iPad to take notes then transfer them to your computer where you can finalize and edit everything to your liking), here are the best apps:</p>
<p>=====================</p>
<p>OnLive Desktop:</p>
<p>-This app basically creates a windows virtual machine on your iPad. You can create Microsoft Word documents, PowerPoints, and use the Excel spreadsheet to your advantage. I only have the free version, which does not allow internet access, but I believe you can buy a package from their website which allows internet access at any time through the app itself. So essentially you have a portable Windows computer on your iPad.</p>
<p>Pages, Keynote, Numbers:</p>
<p>-These three apps are all made by the same developer and are essentially another version of Word, PowerPoint and Excel. You can print from the app itself, you have TONS of editing possibilities, and you can import pictures, something not many apps give you the flexibility. All in all, these apps can create amazing documents, but take a little more effort since you’re not on an actual computer. Also, you might not want to create an entire PowerPoint on your iPad alone (which is why I highly recommend bringing an iPad and a laptop) as it might eventually become tedious to make it look great throughout the whole PowerPoint and it might take quite a bit more time than you need to.</p>
<p>=====================</p>
<p>Also, once paired with a BlueTooth keyboard such as the Zaggfolio (my personal favorite and what I currently use), your iPad can quite legitimately be considered a full-fledged computer.</p>
<p>In general, if you have to decide between one or the other no matter what, I’d say go with a computer. The iPad is a great candidate but simply takes more time than needed to do simple things such as make a powerpoint, or create spreadsheets. The only really good positive side is making word documents quickly.</p>
<p>If you can, try as hard as possible to let her get you both, as pairing an iPad with a computer is probably the smartest decision of your life. You won’t have to lug around a giant computer, wait for it to turn on, and you can quickly take notes and such. Then, when you get back to your dorm, simply eMail yourself the notes or something and open them up through your computer and compile them all together to make a study guide or something. Also, it’s SOOO much easier to make a PowerPoint through a computer. Even better, in bringing both, you can get an app called Ignition ($130) which allows you to wirelessly connect to your computer and perform tasks on it through your iPad. Ever heard of TeamViewer? Ignition is like TeamViewer on steroids. Again, it’s not ideal but is awesome for getting access to notes and stuff that you may have on your computer.</p>
<p>It all comes down to your financial situation I guess. If you can afford both, get both. If you can only afford one, I say go with the computer. It will be a little bit more of a hassle but will save you time and much more in the long run.</p>
<p>The laptops I buy tend to offer an internal 3g/4g modem as an upgrade so you are not only stuck with WiFi.</p>
<p>If you can afford it , I’d recommend a Fujitsu Lifebook T902. It’s like a iPad + a laptop together. I think it comes out in August though.</p>
<p>I just thought of this. Before making a decision, try and e-mail your instructors if you already know who they will be. Some have a strict ‘No Laptop’ policy but there are some that are even more strict with iPads in the classroom.</p>
<p>So I would get in touch with them and see what their policies are.</p>
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<p>I never had the problem during my undergrad years but it’s possible.</p>
<p>I’ve just noticed it the past year. I guess some professors were just getting fed up with those students using them for non-school purposes during class.</p>